Some Roads aren't meant to be traveled alone
by lilyleia78
Summary: Not all journeys are measured in miles. Daniel finds his way home.


Note: You may recognize the title; it's an old Chinese Proverb. The trip from Colorado Springs to Swan Lake, near Silver Lake, Minnesota was plotted for me by yahoo maps, but I have actually made the drive as far as Omaha.

**950 miles out – 14.5 hours from home**

Teal'c dropped the last of Daniel's bags in the back of the jeep before joining Sam and Daniel at the front of the car. Daniel had said his goodbyes to Mitchell and Vala at the Mountain, but Sam and Teal'c had insisted on getting up at four in the morning to see him off. Now it was just the original team gathered in the predawn darkness – minus one very important member.

"We'll miss you," Sam said with eyes that were dry, though suspiciously red and puffy.

"You'll be too busy revolutionizing the galaxy to notice I'm gone," Daniel said, enfolding his friend in a hug.

"Never," Sam promised.

Teal'c wrapped his arms around both of his friends, earning smiles from them both. "I believe the phrase is do not be a stranger."

"I won't. You know where to find me if you need me."

"Yeah," Sam laughed. "We always did."

"Thanks," Daniel said, "for everything."

_"Why does Jack always think the friendly aliens are trying to get into my pants?" Daniel asked with exasperation as they trekked back to the gate through yet another lush forest. Jack had gone ahead, muttering something about scouting for traps set by clingy, scantily clad native girls, so it was just him, Sam and Teal'c at the moment. "He could have ruined the entire first contact process with his antics. Inella was just being nice."_

"_It has been my experience that O'Neill excels in the practice of threat assessment. Perhaps he felt the situation with Inella was potentially dangerous," Teal'c speculated._

_Daniel rolled his eyes. "Jack didn't think she was any threat to me."_

_Teal'c cast a glance towards Sam before answering, "Not all threats are to our physical bodies. I believe O'Neill's concern was for the emotional wellbeing of the parties involved. _

_Sam caught Daniel's eye before adding, "And maybe you weren't the one who was being threatened."_

_Daniel was taken aback by the suggestion. He hadn't considered the ramifications of an unrequited crush; Jack was more insightful than he was given credit for, but Daniel didn't often make that mistake. He spoke slowly as he thought the situation through. "I don't think my rejection would have upset her. Even if she had been interested, which she wasn't, I could have been gentle."_

_Sam stopped walking, turning to address Daniel with a significant look. "It's hard to believe, but occasionally the Colonel does act out of self preservation."_

_Daniel frowned at her, still confused, but a foggy idea was forming in his head. "I'm not sure…"_

_With a sigh, Sam continued. "The threat was that you _wouldn't _have rejected her." _

_His friends watched carefully as he worked the problem out in his head. When his eyebrows shot up in surprise, Teal'c nodded, more to himself than to Daniel, and Sam put a steady hand on his bicep._

"_Are you saying…I mean, he really…" Daniel licked his suddenly too-dry lips and took a deep breath. "And everyone knows but me," he said, shaking his head at his own obliviousness._

"_Everything's going to be okay." Sam said._

"_Really?" Daniel asked in a tone made sharp with surprise and anxiety. All the reasons he'd never acted on his own mixed up feelings rushed to the forefront of his mind, and he couldn't seem to remember why he'd ever wished Jack felt the same. "You don't know that. What about his career? There are the regulations, the team – and this could jeopardize everything."_

"_Daniel Jackson, there are very few things that could damage our friendship or the team. This is not one of them." Teal'c was as composed as ever, and he spoke with quiet certainty._

_Daniel looked at Teal'c in dazed amazement and turned to his other teammate. "I'm with Teal'c," Sam said. "We wouldn't have said anything to you if that was a problem." She stared at him for a moment before adding, "or if we thought his feelings weren't returned. But it's your decision what to do now."_

_Daniel nodded distractedly already lost in thought. "Thanks," he said slowly. "I think I need to be alone. I'll just guard our six for awhile."_

_Teal'c immediately quickened his pace to catch up with O'Neill. Sam hesitated. "If we're wrong…if you don't feel the same way, that's one thing, but don't use us as an excuse not to follow your heart. And don't sacrifice your feelings on behalf of the Colonel or his career. It's his decision too."_

**880 miles out – 13.5 hours from home**

Daniel was forced to stop sooner than expected when his coffee ran out in Denver. He found a coffee house and went inside to stretch his legs and move around a bit, but he got his order to go, too anxious to get back on the road to stop for long. After all these years it was strange to still have butterflies at the thought of Jack and taking the next step.

_"Damn it Daniel, I'm not an invalid," Jack grumbled as Daniel eased him down onto the bed, careful not to jar Jack's broken leg._

"_I'm aware of that Jack. And if I ever forget I have your menacing growl to remind me," Daniel answered sweetly._

"_You think it's menacing?" Jack asked, smugness oozing from his expression._

_Daniel had to hide his smile. "Very fierce." _

_He helped Jack to arrange the covers to his satisfaction before straightening up and crossing to the other side of the bed. He hovered there for a few moments fiddling with the frayed hem of the t-shirt he wore and gathering his courage, and then he took off his glasses, set them on the bedside table and crawled into the bed._

_Jack lifted his head off the pillow, eyes wide with surprise and opened his mouth. But Daniel was already there, easing the upper half of his body across Jack's, and kissing away the words. _

_Despite Sam and Teal'c's opinion and his own observations in the intervening months Daniel had a heart stopping moment when Jack remained slack and unresponsive underneath him for half a second. Then, with a wordless sob against Daniel's lips, Jack wrapped his arms around Daniel and poured himself into the kiss, removing any half formed doubts from Daniel's mind._

_Later, when Jack's medicine kicked in and sleep was pulling at them both, Daniel rolled off of Jack, half hard, but not desperate, content to take things slow. He'd known going in there was no chance of anything more than kisses and declarations tonight. Not with Jack's leg and the pain meds. _

"_You need anything?" he asked through a yawn._

_Jack pulled Daniel back in with one arm until Daniel was pressed against his side, nose buried in his neck. "Nope, got everything right here."_

**615 miles to go – 10 hours from home**

Daniel pushed himself hard on the first leg of his trip, not stopping again until the mountains and the mountain time zone were behind him and his body protested that it needed to move, needed to eat, really needed to pee. He climbed out of his jeep at a western themed full service truck stop off of I-80 East near North Platte, Nebraska, and took half and hour to eat a light breakfast and refresh himself. He sent Teal'c a postcard featuring Buffalo Bill, describing the elaborate pit stop; it had a small movie theater, a video arcade, and shower stalls.

_"It's a good thing we're in the shower," Jack remarked as he stepped into Daniel's small shower. He pressed himself against Daniel's wet back and wrapped a friendly hand around the one Daniel was already using to stroke his morning erection, "it looks like you could use a cold one."_

_But Jack rendered his own advice useless, setting a brutal pace with his hand, thrusting against the cleft of Daniel's ass in time with his fast, firm pulls. Daniel disentangled their joined hands to brace himself against the wall, and in short order he was crying out, "I love you, Jack." as he climaxed into Jack's hand. Through his pleasure, Daniel was dimly aware of Jack pulling away to find his own release with the hand already coated in Daniel's come. He wished he had the energy left to watch; it sounded really hot._

_Jack was slightly winded as he cleaned them both and teased, "You know, you only say that when sex is involved."_

_Daniel frowned, his sex-stupid brain trying to figure out what the heck Jack was going on about. When he caught up he shrugged, "Keep your hands off of me for more than five seconds when we're alone, and I'll say it as often as you like."_

_Jack was rendered momentarily speechless by the confession, but his tone was light when he found his voice. "Stop looking so damned gorgeous and I'll keep my hands to myself."_

"_Jack," Daniel protested, embarrassed at the unexpected compliment._

"_Daniel," Jack answered as if it was the only truth that mattered. Daniel leaned in for another kiss before reluctantly stepping out of the shower to face the day._

_Later that day, Daniel grabbed Jack's arm to prevent him from leaving the locker room with Sam and Teal'c. "What would you say the chances are of us having sex in the next hour or so?" he asked._

_Jack frowned at him warily, possibly expecting to be jumped at any moment. "We're about to leave on an overnight mission offworld, so I'm gonna say slim to none."_

"_I agree," Daniel nodded._

"_Then why ask?" Jack asked suspiciously. "Angling for a quickie?"_

"_No, I just wanted to be sure that you knew that this has nothing to do with sex," was Daniel's mysterious answer. Before Jack could demand clarification, Daniel placed a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth and murmured, "I love you."_

_Jack's smile could have powered a hundred stargates when he answered, "Sap." _

"_Hard ass."_

"_Why thank you!" Jack smirked. "Compliments will get you everywhere."_

**334 miles to go – 6 hours from home**

To give himself something to look forward to and an excuse to stop for more than gas and food, Daniel had made plans before leaving Colorado to meet a friend near Omaha for a late lunch.

It was nearly two thirty when Daniel flashed his credentials at the gate of Offutt Air Force Base and followed his handwritten directions to the home of Captain and Mrs. Oliver – formerly working with deep space telemetry out of NORAD.

"Dr. Jackson!" Denny called as he came down his driveway toward Daniel's car, "You made it just in time; Annie's just pulled the roast out of the oven.

"It's Daniel, Denny," Daniel said, and then he grinned as he remembered something. "Although perhaps you prefer Major Oliver these days?"

The other man laughed and thumped Daniel on the back. "Can you believe it? They'll give a promotion to anybody these days."

_Jack waited until they were in bed, covers pulled high and the lights off before springing the news on him. Daniel listened in silence until Jack was through speaking, then he used one arm to reel Jack onto his shoulder in a reverse echo of their first night together. _

"_Washington?" He asked._

"_Yeah."_

"_Are you going to take it?"_

"_Hard to turn down something like that unless..." Jack paused to laugh, the harsh sound too loud in the quiet of their room. "Unless I retire."_

_Daniel heard the unspoken question in the statement. "What would you do in this theoretical retirement?" he asked, attempting to gather data before he decided how he felt about the idea of a retired Jack. No, he knew exactly how he felt about a retired Jack. It was the idea of a retired Daniel he wasn't so sure about._

"_Oh you know. Fish. Bend you over the breakfast bar. Nap. Let you bend me over the lunch table. Grill something. Take you back to bed. The usual."_

_Daniel smiled. "I didn't realize retirement would give you a superhuman recovery time. I would have suggested it years ago."_

"_Hey," Jack protested, sitting up to glare at Daniel. "I haven't heard any complaints from you."_

_Daniel sat up too and pressed a placating kiss to Jack's lips. "And I have none." His smile faded into seriousness, licking his lips before asking, "Um, do you really think you're ready for retirement?"_

_Jack hesitated. "Maybe. I think I could be. But…" Jack's eyes narrowed as he studied Daniel's face in the dark. "I don't think you are."_

_Daniel shook his head and rushed to explain. "It's not that I don't want that – the happily ever after with napping and all day sex – it's just there's so much more to learn and study. And I've never even seen…"_

_Jack cut him off. "And you've never even seen Atlantis."_

_It was sometimes frightening how well this man knew him. "Yeah."_

_Jack lay back down. "How about we make a deal then; I go to Washington and approve your transfer to Atlantis." Daniel's eyes widened in surprise. "And when you're ready, you come home, I retire and we get to work on the happily ever after part."_

_Daniel fell upon Jack, kissing him until Daniel barely had any breath left to say, "Deal."_

**141 miles to go – 3 hours from home**

At seven o'clock Daniel pulled off of Highway 60 for his last real stop. He took the Worthington exit and found a place to top off the tank before hitting a drive thru for a dinner of greasy burgers and fries. Daniel could feel his energy starting to wane, but he pushed his exhaustion down with thoughts of what awaited him at the end of the night.

_The envelope sitting on his desk mocked him. _

_Positioned on top of the tome he'd left open before departing with SG-7, there was nothing especially remarkable about the manila envelope itself. There was no address on it, no postmark, or any indication of what it contained. The thing that had caught Daniel's attention, the reason he was still staring at the unopened envelope, was the yellow post-it note on the front, written in what was unmistakably Jack's handwriting. "We have to quit not meeting like this." _

_Daniel's smile was bittersweet as he reread the single line. Those eight words meant that Jack had been here at the Mountain – in Daniel's own office – while Daniel was offworld. _

_Daniel cursed into the silence of his office. He had been doing what he loved for a change, studying the ancient past of a long dead culture. But it no longer seemed as important to him as being here to see Jack would have been. He wished he'd have sent someone else. He wished he'd been here to see Jack instead. The reality of that had stopped scaring Daniel months ago. He was tired of the waiting; maybe it was time to give Jack a nudge in the right direction. _

_Then Daniel opened the envelope and discovered that his waiting was over, and Jack's had just begun. Inside it were Jack's official retirement papers, all properly signed and dated, effective – Daniel checked his desk calendar – today. And scrawled at the bottom _I'll leave a candle burning for you.

**8 miles out – 15 minutes from home**

There was no need for Daniel to stop in Hutchinson. Not much was open at 10 o'clock on a Monday night and everything he needed was less than ten miles away, but he pulled into a familiar gas station just inside of town anyway. Somehow the thought of arriving at the cabin and immediately hitting the head didn't seem like the nicest welcome in the world. So he made one last hasty stop and climbed into the jeep, more than ready to be home again.

Ten minutes later he was driving down the long, empty road that led to the cabin. Daniel found himself leaning forward as he neared the last bend in the road, straining to catch a glimpse of the structure through the trees. When it finally came into view Daniel's breathe caught; every window was ablaze with the distinctive orange glow of firelight. He laughed out loud at the sight. Jack didn't do things by halves, that much was certain.

Daniel opened the unlocked door and dropped the small bag of his toiletries at the threshold. He stepped to the middle of the room and turned a slow circle, surveying the familiar room made soft and new by the candlelight. The light from dozens of candles illuminated relics of the life they'd begun building so many years ago - priceless artifacts mixed with fishing lures, Mary Steenberg movies mixed with documentaries on ancient civilizations, comics laying haphazardly on top of reference books. And the centerpiece of the room was Jack, standing in the entryway into the kitchen and looking smug despite the tense line of his body.

"Expecting someone?" Daniel asked.

"Lost power," Jack answered with a shrug.

"I see." Daniel looked over Jack's shoulder toward the bathroom where the overhead light was clearly visible.

Jack refused to take the bait and turn around. "It was a very isolated power outage."

Daniel laughed, overwhelmed by a fresh wave of affection for the annoying, infuriating, completely wonderful man who'd somehow managed to worm his way past years of defenses to capture Daniel's heart. "Marry me," Daniel said, not a question or a demand, a simple statement of desire and intent.

Jack's grin spoke of joy and relief and his body relaxed. "Hey, that's my line. You couldn't wait five minutes?"

"No," Daniel answered truthfully, stepping closer to wrap a hand around the back of Jack's neck, pulling him forward so that all of his senses were filled with Jack, "I think we've waited long enough."

**Destination**


End file.
